Boks bring back Bakkies

28 October 2013 16:18pm

By WRU

Bakkies Botha is in the Springbok squad for Wales

The Welsh have won the Six Nations the last two seasons. It's our first Test against them since the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and they will be fired up at the Millennium Stadium - Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer

The Springboks have recalled three of their 2007 World Cup winning heroes for their European tour which kicks-off against Wales at the Millennium Stadium on 9 November.

Lock Bakkies Botha will get a quick-fire return to the Welsh capitol after his recent beating by Cardiff Blues with Toulon, while Japanese-based threequarters Jaque Fourie and JP Pietersen have also been included in the 32-man squad.

It will be Botha and Fourie's first involvement with the Springboks since the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, while Pietersen is back in the squad for the first time this year.

Botha is one of seven players in the squad who currently ply their trade in Europe. Toulon team mate Bryan Habana is one of three other Top 14 stars, including Toulouse' Guthro Steenkamp and Stade Francais Paris' Morne Steyn, while Bath's Francois Louw, Leinster's Zane Kirchner and Ulster's Ruan Pienaar are also in the squad.

As well as adding the experienced trio, head coach Heyneke Meyer has also called-up four uncapped players for a tour that will see the Boks play Wales, Scotland and France.

Siyabonga 'Scarra' Ntubeni, a 22-year-old hooker, gets his first involvement in a South African squad, while the three other uncapped players, Frans Malherbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Louis Schreuder, have been part of the national squad previously.

Injuries to Arno Botha, Pierre Spies, Francois Hougaard and Jaco Taute meant they were not considered for selection. Gio Aplon, who was part of the squad in June, and Johan Goosen, who recently returned after seven months out injured, earn recalls for the tour.

"Scarra's inclusion, like that of Gio, is also just-reward for continuous great. He's still young and will learn a lot from our two front-line hookers, who both rate amongst the best in the world, on this tour. I want to expose him to this environment and the Springbok ethos and I'm very excited to work with him," said Meyer.

"Pieter-Steph missed a large part of the season because of injury but has been exceptional since his return to the playing field last month, while we've always rated Frans very highly and look forward to working with him again.

"And Louis has always been on our radar - he is only 23, fits in with the way we want to play and was impressive when he worked with us in June. Since then he's established himself as first-choice at DHL Western Province, starting in nine of their 12 Absa Currie Cup matches, and I believe he will learn a lot on this tour, improving even more.

"It will be great to have Bakkies, Jaque and JP in the squad - all of them are really excited to play for the Springboks again, they have heaps of experience and are world-class players."

The Springboks finished second in the Rugby Championship this year, losing twice to the All Blacks in the decisive games of the season. But Meyer's men have posted seven wins already this year and wil be looking for a final flourish to round off their season.

"We'll play in conditions we've not yet encountered this year, but we want to keep our positive mind-set on the field and hopefully keep on scoring tries," said Meyer. "We're up for the challenge. I know the players are keen to finish 2013 off on a high.

"The Welsh have won the Six Nations the last two seasons. It's our first Test against them since the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and they will be fired up at the Millennium Stadium.

"This year Scotland finished third in the Six Nations and in our two Tests against them in the last two seasons, they have been a tough nut to crack. We're not expecting anything different at Murrayfield this year.

"We finish off against France at the Stade de France, where the Springboks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in 2007. But we've not beaten Les Bleus in France since 1997 and will have to be sharp and focused for this last Test of a challenging season."

We look ahead to the French tests in this week's Principality Welsh Rugby Union Podcast. We look ahead to Wales France with Warren Gatland, Sam Warburton, Scott Baldwin, Rhys Webb and Jonathan Davies. Wales Women are the only team in red still unbeaten in this Six Nations, we speak to captain Rachel Taylor. Wales U20 are looking bounce back from defeat in Scotland, we hear from coach Jason Strange, captain Rory Thornton and front rower Dillon Lewis.

Warren Gatland and Sam Warburton look ahead to this week's crunch RBS 6 Nations tie against France, where the Wales skipper in particular is keen to make his mark, as Paris has proved a bleak place for him in the past.

Reaction from Scotland and a special focus on Welsh Women's rugby in this week's Principality Welsh Rugby Union Podcast. We hear from Wales captain Sam Warburton and coach Warren Gatland, as well as Wales U20 reaction from forwards coach Geraint Lewis, along with Josh Adams and Olly Griffiths. There is also a special focus on Welsh Women's rugby with coach Rhys Edwards, as well as hearing from clubs Bedlinog, Penybanc, Kidwelly and Skewen. We also speak to volunteer of the year, Sue Davies on Whitland and the Scarlets.

Following their historic win over England, Wales Under 20 suffered a narrow, 36-34 loss to their Scottish counterparts last weekend, despite outscoring them by five tries to three. Watch the match highlights and reaction.

Disappointment at the Millennium Stadium, but don't be sad because two out of three is not bad in this week's Principality Welsh Rugby Union Podcast as the 20s and Women both win. We hear from Sam Warburton, Dan Lydiate, Alun Wyn Jones, Jamie Roberts and Leigh Halfpenny about the defeat to England and looking forward to Scotland. Wales U20s captain Ollie Griffiths, back Josh Adams and forwards coach Geraint Lewis talk about their victory over double world champions England, while Wales Women also beat a world championship winning England team - we speak to backs Elinor Snowsill, Ade Taviner and Laurie Harris.

Twelve players have been released back to their respective regions by the Wales national squad. The players will be available for selection for their region this weekend and will re-join the national squad next Monday (March 9)